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He went quiet for a moment. “I can’t love you, Tasha.”
“I think you can. I think you do. And if you can’t then you’ve lost nothing by talking this through with me, by taking this time we have and trying to see if we can make this work.”
“I lost the you I thought you were,” he argued. “I lost the me I got to be with you. That’s not nothing.”
She was going to lose him. If she let him sleep on the couch tonight, he would lie out here and build up his walls. He would build them so high she couldn’t possibly climb them. Her mother had told her exactly what she needed to do. “Sleep with me, Dare. Use me the way I used you. Hell, sleep with me because it’s never been as good with another person.”
His jaw tightened. “It wasn’t good with Chet?”
The fact that he kept going back to Chet gave her some hope. “Not as good as it is with you. Chet is an asshole, and we should stop talking about him because he is the least of our problems.”
“There is no us, but I am willing to admit that I don’t see a way I don’t fuck you again if you let me. Do you want me to use you? That’s all it will be. Sex. Nothing more. You won’t get anything else out of me.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
He stared at her for a moment as though trying to imprint his will on her. “I’m making you a promise.”
She could do the same. They were at war now—one she didn’t want to fight, but she meant to win. They should have the battlelines drawn clearly. “And I promise when you want to come back to me, I won’t give you any trouble. I’ll let you in without a fight because I know something you don’t. I know I love you and I’m what’s best for you, and you’ll see it.”
“Don’t say you love me.”
She shrugged. “Just because I don’t say it doesn’t mean it’s not true. You have never been properly loved, Dare Nash. You’ve never had a family that could support you. I’m willing to bet you’re going to like it.”
“I don’t have a family.”
“You could. You could have mine.” Her mother was right. She might have to take some harsh words, but the man was already bending. He was already bargaining with her and himself to get more time with her.
Time. It was all they needed.
“I only want the help your father promised. That’s all.” He turned and started for the bedroom.
She followed.
“If you’re coming in here, take off your clothes.” He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.
Ah, they were moving on to the second stage. Her mom had explained there were four stages of aggrieved masculinity. Stage one was a whole lot of yelling/freezing out. Stage two was rage sex. She’d been warned this was the truly dangerous stage, the one that could make her feel like shit.
But she could get through it.
“Are you planning on using me, Sir?” D/s was a language they could agree on. It was what he could accept right now.
His face was all hard edges as he glanced back at her. “Yes. I am. You can consent or I can go sleep on the couch. It’s your choice.”
Yep, they were fully in the rage-sex stage. She needed clear parameters. “I would like to set my expectations. During your use of my person, will I be getting an orgasm or will leaving me unsatisfied be part of the punishment?”
He seemed stumped by the question. “I don’t mean it as punishment.”
“Don’t you?”
His eyes narrowed. “Fine. You will serve me and then go to bed, and you will not pleasure yourself. Is that understood? Since you’ve forced me into this position, I’ll make some rules of my own. One of them is you don’t get any relief I don’t give you. Outside of the parameters of the op, you will obey me. The only way I will have any kind of a relationship with you is as your Dom.”
She wanted to hug him because he was diving deep into stage two. She didn’t because her mom was right. He needed this time to get his feet back under him and find solid ground again. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”
His expression went stark. “Tasha, don’t do this. I’ll cut you up. If you let me, I’ll tear you apart.”
He might, but she was resilient. “I think you’re worth the risk.”
His eyes closed, and when he opened them she saw the resignation there. “Then strip. You don’t wear clothes when you’re here. You’re to be naked and ready to serve me when you’re in this suite.”
“Yes, Sir.” She quickly got out of her clothes, folding them before standing in front of her Dom. This was likely to be somewhat brutal, and she was ready for it.
